Chelsea

1st January signing? Chelsea begin talks for classy defender

Chelsea have reportedly approached Serie A side, AS Roma over the availability of Brazilian born defender, Emerson Palmieri ahead of a potential winter move.

The Blues have been in the market for a left-back since last summer with Spanish defender, Marcos Alonso the only senior left back in the squad and has played virtually all games this season.

Antonio Conte was keen on signing Juventus defender, Alex Sandro both in the summer and winter but it seems the Blues have cooled their interest in the defender with Serie A giants not ready to sell this month and has prompted the west London club to go for cheaper and realistic alternative in Emerson Palmieri.

Reports in Italy suggest the full-back could be the subject of a three-way transfer battle between Chelsea, Liverpool and Juventus with both sides also keen on signing the defender.

Although, it is believed the Blues are front-runners to sign the former Santos defender having made a concrete offer to the Serie A side.

The 23-year-old who was brought in has a cover for French defender, Lucas Digne in the summer of 2015 and has grown into one of the finest full-back in the Serie A but he is yet to feature in any game for the Romans so far this term due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered in May 2017.

He is known for his crossing, dribbling, passing, long shots, concentration, and defensive contributions.

With AS Roma keen on balancing their books, they might be open to doing business with the Blues this month.